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Organization assignment

The organization assignment rules in SAM Core on Snow Atlas let you automatically assign computers to the organization structure.

Description​

The organization assignment is defined by one or several assignment rules, based on attributes such as host name, IP address, or site name. The rules create a relationship between the active computers and the organization structure. This enables, for example, reporting by cost center.

Assignment rules​

The assignment rules are defined by one or several criteria. The criteria are conditions based on a computer attribute, a function, and a value:

  • Attribute: A technical property of a computer, for example, registry key, host name, or IP address.

  • Function: A logical operator, for example, Equals or Contains, which enables calculation between an attribute and a value.

  • Value: A specific value or a range of values applied to a computer attribute, for example, the host name of a set of computers.

The criteria are separated by an AND operator by default:

  • AND: The computers must match both criteria.

The assignment rules can be applied in two ways:

  • You can apply the rules manually. For more information, see Apply assignment rules.

  • The rules are applied automatically when computers in the organization structure change. That is, when a new computer is inventoried by the Data Update Job, or when the Data Update Job transfers new or updated data related to the assignment rules, for example, registry key, host name, or IP address.

Assignment rules based on registry keys​

You can create assignment rules for Windows computers based on registry keys. The registry keys must be inventoried by Snow Atlas through a PowerShell script in the Snow Inventory Agent for Windows. For more information, see Running PowerShell scripts as part of the scanning process. To configure the Snow Inventory Agent for Windows to inventory registry keys, contact Snow Support.

Assignment rule example: Registry keys​

This is an example of how to create assignment rules defined by registry keys.

An organization uses registry keys to indicate the location of their Windows computers. They add a registry key, which they call CountryID, on each computer and choose to store the information in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CustomerAttribute.

In Snow Atlas, the organization adds assignment rules to assign the computers to the organization structure. They add one assignment rule for each organization node they want to assign computers to. For example, to assign the computers to the organization node Sweden, they create an assignment rule with the following criteria:

  • Attribute: Registry key

  • Registry key name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CustomerAttribute

  • Value name: CountryID

  • Function: Equals

  • Value data: SE

When the rule is applied, all computers that have SE as CountryID will be assigned to the organization node Sweden.

note

The registry key must be inventoried by Snow Atlas through a PowerShell script in the Snow Inventory Agent for Windows on the computers.

Assignment rule example: Host name​

This is an example of how to create assignment rules defined by host name.

An organization uses the location of a computer as part of the name of the computer. For example, all computers located in Sweden have a name that starts with SE.

In Snow Atlas, the organization adds assignment rules to assign the computers to the organization structure. They add one assignment rule for each organization node they want to assign computers to. For example, to assign the computers to the organization node Sweden, they create an assignment rule with the following criteria:

  • Attribute: Host name

  • Function: Starts with

  • Value: SE

When the rule is applied, all computers that have a name that starts with SE will be assigned to the organization node Sweden.

Assignment rule example: IP address​

This is an example of how to create assignment rules defined by IP address.

An organization uses the IP address to identify where a computer is located. All computers at a specific location have an IP address in a unique range of IP addresses. For example, all computers in Sweden have an IP address starting with 192.71.

In Snow Atlas, the organization adds assignment rules to assign the computers to the organization structure. They add one assignment rule for each organization node they want to assign computers to. For example, to assign the computers to the organization node Sweden, they create an assignment rule with the following criteria:

  • Attribute: IP address

  • Function: Starts with

  • Value: 192.71

When the rule is applied, all computers that have an IP address starting with 192.71 will be assigned to the organization node Sweden.